Telephone-lock.



No. 728,478. PATBNTBDMAY 19, 190,3.

E. G. LEWIS. l TELEPHONE Loox.

A PPLIQATION FILED JUNE 20, 1902.

no'xonnr..

Patented May 1K9', 1903.

PATENT OEEIOE.

EDWARD LEWIS, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TOTHE CONTROLLER COMPANY OE MISSOURI.

AMERICA, VOE ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF T'ELEPHONE-LOOK.

Y SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 728,478, dated May 19, 1903.

' Application ned Innere, 1902. Serin no. 112,468. (No man.)

VTo @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD G. LEWIS, a citizen of the -United States, residing at'the city of St. Louis, State of Missouri, havev invented a certain new anduseful Improvement in Telephone-Locks, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as Vwill enable others skilled inthe art to which it appertains to make and 4use the same, ref- 1o erence being had to the. accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, 'in

Figure 1 is a front elevation, only a portion of the usual telephone-box'being shown. Fig.

I 5 2 is a longitudinal elevation showing'the parts in locking position, the coin-raceway and the receiver suspension-hook` being shown in section. Fig. 3 is a view of the general characterkof Fig. 2, the parts being. shown in the po- 2o sitions assumed! after the coin has been deposited upon the coin-receiving arm of ,the locking-lever and before the receiver has been takenfrom the suspension-hook. Fig. 4 is a view of the general character of Fig. 2, the

parts being shown in the positions assumed after the receiver suspension-hook has been elevated and the coin has been discharged from the locking-lever; and Fig.5 is atop plan View, the casing being shown in section.

My invention relates to improvements in telephone-locks, my object being to provide a simple structure in which the parts act directly, the device, including a substantially horizontally slidable bar, engaging the receiver suspension-hook and locking the same in depressed position. j

To these ends and also to vimprove generally upon devices of the character indicated my invention consists in the various matters 4o hereinafter described and claimed.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, 1 indicatesa portion of a telephonebox, which can be of anysuitable construction, and 2 indicates the customary suspen-` sion-hook for the usual telephone-receiver 3. A box or casing t is secured to the wall or other suitable support to extend at the side of the said telephone-box and in such position that the hereinafter-mentioned slide-bar can 5o properly engage the suspension-hook, said casing containing the hereinafter-described locking mechanism and being provided with a coin-slot 5 and a raceway 6, one of the vertical walls of the casing being provided with a slot or opening 7. Slidable through said slot and also preferably provided with suitable guides 8 is a substantially horizontal slide-bar 9, whoseouter end is provided with an outwardly and upwardly inclined face 10, which when the slide-baris in 1ockedl posi- 6o tion engages and extends over the suspenv sion-hook to lock said hook in depressed position, saidfbar also having uponits outer end a substantially straight surface Y10a, which adjoins the upper endy of said inclined surface. Pivoted above saidslide-b'ar is a locking-lever 11, which has a downwardly-extending nose or vhook 12 upon one .of its arms, said nose being adapted to engagea shoulder 13 upon the, slide-bar, this shoulder being conveniently formed by producing a recess l4fin the'upper edge of the said slide-bar. The other arm 15 ofthe said lever lies above the slidesbar and is below the discharge end of the coin-raceway, so that a coin discharged 7 5 from said raceway engages the said lever-arm 15. In advance of the portion of the slidebar which is engaged by the coin-receiving arm 15 of thelocking-lever the slide-bar is provided with a recess'or cutaway portion 16 upon its upper surface. A suitable spring 17 bears upon the slide-bar to normally force the same outwardly, said spring being of such strength that its pressure can be Overcome by the usual spring for liftingv the receiverhook. v

Normally the parts are in the positions indicated in Fig. 2-that is, the slide-bar is in l projected position, with its inclined surface 10 engaging the receiver suspension-hook and locking said hook in depressed position, the overbalaucing lockinglever arm,which is provided with the nose .or hook 12, vlying in the recess 14 in the rear of the shoulder 13 and the coin-receiving arm `of the said locking-le- .95 ver being in raised position under the dis-v charge end of the raceway. When the parts are in the positions just described, the receiver suspension-hook is locked in a manner which will be apparent. When a coi-n is in- Ioo serted in the raceway, said coin'falls upon the arm 15 of the locking-lever and depresses said arm until the same engages the upper surface of the slide-bar in rear of the cut away portion 16, the rocking of the said lever into this position serving to lift the nose or hook 12 above the upper surface of the slide-bar, but not being sucient to permit the coin to entirely leave the raceway. As soon as the receiver is lifted from the suspension-hook the customary spring attached to said hook causes it to rise, and in its upward movement said hook slides along the inclined face of the slide-bar and forces the said bar inwardly, the portion of the slidebar which has been supporting the coin-receiving arm of the locking-lever being thus carried from beneath the said arm and the recess 16 being brought under the end of said arm, so that the arm is permitted to be further depressed in order to effect the full discharge of the coin from the raceway and the said arm. This backward movement of the slide-bar has also carried the recess 14 backwardly from beneath the nose or hook 12, and therefore as soon as the coin is discharged from the arm 15 the overbalaucing leverarm, provided with the said nose or hook, falls upon the upper surface of the slid erbar. When the slidebar is in retracted position, the straight surface 10a of the bar end engages the side of the suspension-hook, whereby although said hook holds said bar in retracted position and the spring 17 tends to return the bar to projected position said bar does not tend to force the hook downwardly, as would occur were the inclined surface 10 to engage the hook. When the receiver is again placed upon the suspension-hook, said hook is depressed, thus permitting the springr 17 to exert its force against the slide-bar to move the same outwardly into locking position, the nose 12 falling into the recess 14 during the outward movement of the bar. The parts are thus again placed in their normal positions ready for further operation.

I am aware that minor changes in the construction, arrangement, and combination of the several parts of my telephone-lock may Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

, 1. In a telephone-lock or the like, the combination with the receiver suspension-hook, of a slide-bar slidable at an angle to the line of movement of said hook, means for locking said bar when in projected position, and yielding means tending to move said bar into projected position, the outer end of said bar having a surface lying in the path of move ment of said hook when said bar is in projected position, said surface inclining outwardly aud awayT from said hook, and said bar also having upon its outer end a substantially straight surface which adjoins` said inclined surface and is adapted to engage the side of said hook when said bar is in retracted position; substantially as described.

2. In a telephone'lock or the like, a substantially horizontal bar having a lockingshoulder upon its u pper surface and also having a cut-away portion in said upper surface in rear of said locking-shoulder, a locking-lever pivoted in the vertical plane of said bar and above the same, a nose upon one end of said lever adapted to lie behind said lockingshoulder, a coin-receiving arm in said lever and adapted when said lever is rocked to rest upon the upper surface of said bar in rear of said cut-away portion, the outer end of said bar having an outwardly and upwardly inclined surface and a substantially straight surface adjoining the upper end of said inclined surface, and yielding means tending to force said bar outwardly; substantially as described.4

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature, in the presence of two witnesses, this 18th day of June, 1902.

EDWARD Gr. LEWIS.

Witnesses:

GALEs P. MOORE, GEORGE BAKEWELL. 

